Great Unknowns

Even though Pro Bowl quarterback Matt Hasselbeck helped the Seattle Seahawks to the playoffs in 2003 -- and their highest victory total in 17 seasons -- he still cruises around largely anonymous in a city he could wind up leading to its first Super Bowl.

“It’s just like being a normal citizen,” he said. “The only thing I get is people who do a funny little double take and say, ‘I feel like I know you from somewhere. Where’d you go to high school?’ That’s the extent of it.”

Some things never change. Twenty-one years ago, when his team reached the AFC championship game and lost to the eventual Super Bowl champion Los Angeles Raiders, Seattle quarterback Dave Krieg led a similar everyday-guy existence, much of it by design. He shared an apartment on Lake Washington with a buddy, didn’t venture much out of his Madison Park neighborhood, and tooled around in a 1980 Ford Pinto -- eye-catching only in that it was canary yellow.

“It’s still parked in my driveway,” said Mike Casey, who shared the apartment with Krieg for four years, and -- because Casey also played at Milton College about two decades before Krieg did -- didn’t charge the kid rent until the paychecks started rolling in from the Seahawks. “They’re awful-looking. About the only thing you can say about those cars is they’re economical -- and Ralph Nader hated them.”

That Seahawk quarterbacks are afforded the man-on-the-street treatment says as much about the city as it does the quarterbacks; it’s a place that almost always pays closer attention to college football than the NFL. When it comes to football, people there usually think Washington Huskies first, Seahawks a distant second.

But now that the Huskies are in a down cycle -- not to mention the struggling SuperSonics and Mariners -- the time is right for the ascending Seahawks to fill the void. And the interest level is definitely on the rise. The Sept. 26 home opener against San Francisco is about 5,000 tickets shy of a sellout. It’s not a rollicking bandwagon yet, but it’s not a sputtering Pinto, either.

“We’ve been in a valley for a long time,” said Gary Wright, vice president of communications. “And now we’re starting to climb out.”

That climb began last season when the Seahawks came oh-so-close to collecting their first postseason victory since 1984. They suffered a 33-27 overtime loss in a wild-card game at Green Bay, when Al Harris stepped in front of a sideline pass by Hasselbeck and returned it 52 yards for the winning touchdown.

It was an especially excruciating moment for Hasselbeck, once the backup to Packer quarterback Brett Favre. So confident was Hasselbeck that the Seahawks were on their way to victory, he got a little cocky when Seattle won the overtime coin flip. “We’ll take the ball, and we’re going to score!” he said, his words broadcast to everyone over the official’s open microphone.

Now, a bit older and wiser, Hasselbeck is more conservative with his predictions. But his team looks as if it’s ready to roll. Every starter returns for an offense ranked sixth overall last season. Hasselbeck is an accurate passer who does a nice job of throwing on the run. He has an outstanding pair of running backs behind him in tailback Shaun Alexander and fullback Mack Strong, and some capable receivers in Koren Robinson, Darrell Jackson and Bobby Engram. The Seahawks did drop more than their share of passes last season, though, and improving in that area was a point of emphasis at training camp.

“You’re going to have dropped passes, that’s part of football,” Hasselbeck said. “Ours just happened on some key plays, so I think that’s why people made more of it than it was. The important thing, I think, is just to keep your confidence high and just play, do what comes naturally. If you start pressing on things like that, it just gets worse.”

The Seahawks have bolstered their defense with free agents such as end Grant Wistrom and cornerback Bobby Taylor, and have a promising linebacker Tracy White, who steps into the starting lineup while Pro Bowl linebacker Chad Brown recovers from a broken leg. Brown, the team’s best pass rusher, is expected to sit out the first four games.

There is no denying the Seahawks were a better team when playing in their dazzling new stadium last season. They were 8-0 at home, an alarming 2-6 on the road.

“I don’t think it was any magical thing you could put your finger on,” Strong said of the road woes. “You could try to do a lot of different things to try to shake it up. But still it’s on the players, it’s a mental thing where people just have to focus and concentrate. They have to understand what’s at stake. There are a lot of expectations this year.”

In some circles, the Seahawks are the chic Super Bowl pick. They are second in Sports Illustrated’s power rankings, and other publications -- among them Pro Football Illustrated and The Times -- have picked them to win the NFC.

“We’re sort of this unknown,” Hasselbeck said. “People don’t know much about us. They saw us play maybe one game, and they liked what they saw.”

Krieg certainly likes what he has seen. He thinks these Seahawks have the potential to be every bit as successful as his were in the early 1980s, back when -- despite the normal treatment he got during the week -- the Kingdome spectators got so loud the NFL had to put in place new crowd-noise rules.

“I thought it was a great football city,” said Krieg, who will be added to the franchise’s ring of honor at halftime of the home opener. “Fans were very knowledgeable. They just expect that, after 10 years, we deserve something.”

Hype or not, some of the excitement is starting to create a buzz in Seattle. Hasselbeck was even recognized in public the other day, spotted by another customer at a Mexican restaurant.

“Took me by surprise,” Hasselbeck said. “And then I saw a kid waiting for the bus the other day wearing a Seahawks jersey. That’s a first for me too.”

Maybe change is on the way.

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NFC East

After three consecutive losses in NFC championship games, it was time for a shake-up in Philadelphia. The Eagles got rid of some mainstays and signed controversial receiver Terrell Owens, an explosive playmaker who could be brilliant on the other end of Donovan McNabb passes. Just like last season, though, the Eagles are having problems staying healthy on the defensive line. The recent loss of defensive end N.D. Kalu really hurts; so does the injury to running back Correll Buckhalter.

In Washington, Redskin fans are supercharged by the return of Hall of Fame Coach Joe Gibbs, who will try to bring another Super Bowl to a team that made the playoffs only once in his 11-year absence. Mark Brunell has locked down the starting quarterback job, and running back Clinton Portis has shown his outstanding speed and power. Watch for rookie safety Sean Taylor to make an immediate impact.

Bill Parcells turned around the Cowboys last season, and now we’ll see whether he can take them the next step. They’ve already had a setback with the abrupt release of starting quarterback Quincy Carter, but Vinny Testaverde has played better than expected and looks rejuvenated since his last years with the Jets. They should have an improved running game too, with Eddie George and Julius Jones getting the carries, rather than Troy Hambrick.

In New York, all eyes will be on rookie quarterback Eli Manning, even though it looks as if Kurt Warner will be the starter for a while. Warner hasn’t won in his last eight starts, and the Giants’ patchwork offensive line doesn’t inspire much hope that he’ll break that streak before it gets to double digits.

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NFC North

People in Minnesota are talking Super Bowl, and their excitement is understandable. Mike Tice’s team is loaded with talent, starting with the quarterback-receiver combo of Daunte Culpepper and Randy Moss, both of whom are coming off strong performances in training camp. There are some questions about the running game. Michael Bennett was looking great until he suffered a knee sprain in the third exhibition game; he could sit out the first three weeks of the season. Onterrio Smith is expected to serve a four-game suspension at the start of the season for violating the league’s substance-abuse policy.

Green Bay is angling for a third consecutive division title and more. After all, who knows how long Favre will keep playing? And could a Super Bowl be in the cards? “I think our team should be more confident this year than we were last year,” Favre told reporters early in camp. “If we play the way we’re capable of, I think we have a legitimate shot.” Watch for Green Bay’s defense to blitz more under new coordinator Bob Slowik.

Joey Harrington seems more comfortable running Steve Mariucci’s offense in Detroit, but the Lions need to come together on defense if they want to improve on last season’s 5-11 record. They need a lot of help at linebacker and might have to pick up some free agents off the street, at least for depth at that position.

Chicago got a heck of a pass rusher in defensive end Adewale Ogunleye, but the Bears had to give up a lot to Miami to get him -- specifically Marty Booker, one of the league’s most underrated receivers. That’s a tough swap to make.

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NFC South

Across the board, this is the strongest division. Each team has a good chance to not only reach the playoffs but to put together a good postseason run. Carolina, the defending conference champion, is out to prove last season was no fluke. Quarterback Jake Delhomme finished last season with 19 touchdown passes and 17 interceptions and played with uncommon poise in the postseason, registering a 106.1 passer rating. Now he’ll be operating behind a reshuffled and somewhat untested offensive line. But he does have the one-two punch of running backs Stephen Davis and DeShaun Foster to keep defenses honest. Carolina’s defensive front seven is the best in the league and is led by the ferocious foursome of Julius Peppers, Kris Jenkins, Brentson Buckner and Mike Rucker.

The defensive line had better be at its best to contain Atlanta’s Michael Vick, who is adjusting to the Falcons’ West Coast offense installed by new Coach Jim Mora and his staff. Vick has been bothered by hamstring problems this summer but should be fine for the opener.

In Tampa, the pressure is on Buccaneer Coach Jon Gruden and Bruce Allen, the general manager he brought from Oakland, to prove that they can return to top form after a 7-9 finish. The Buccaneers have signed a host of experienced (read: old) players this off-season, including receiver Tim Brown and tackles Derrick Deese and Todd Steussie.

Improving the defense has been the No. 1 off-season goal of the New Orleans Saints, who gave up 119 points in their first four games a year ago. Things already are looking up. The No. 1 defense was on the field for 38 series in exhibition games this summer, giving up two touchdowns and seven field goals. Coach Jim Haslett said that’s a big improvement.

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NFC West

The way rookie running back Steven Jackson played for the Rams this summer, it’s only a matter of time until Coach Mike Martz starts rotating him in for Marshall Faulk, who has undergone two surgeries on his right knee in the last 11 months. And Jackson, who showed an ability to run up the gut and around the corner, did so without the benefit of tackles Kyle Turley, sidelined for the season because of a back injury, and Orlando Pace, a camp holdout who signed Sunday night. With the Kurt Warner saga over, quarterback Marc Bulger can focus on leading the Rams back to the top of the division and beyond. He’s 18-4 as a starter.

Seattle reached the playoffs last season for the first time in four years -- no thanks to the Seahawks’ play on the road. They were 8-0 at home but 2-6 away from their new digs. If they can achieve more balance in that area, they could present big problems for opponents. The offense is led by Pro Bowl quarterback Matt Hasselbeck and running back Shaun Alexander, who has 44 rushing touchdowns in three seasons.

San Francisco has lost seven offensive starters from last season’s team -- including quarterback Jeff Garcia and receiver Terrell Owens -- and that puts the focus this season on building for the future. Coaches like the potential of quarterback Tim Rattay, who was hampered in the off-season by groin and forearm injuries.

Speaking of quarterback potential, Arizona’s Josh McCown looks to be an up-and-coming talent who could flourish under the tutelage of new Coach Dennis Green. The Cardinals have two very good receivers for the future in Anquan Boldin and rookie Larry Fitzgerald, but Boldin is sidelined for three months because of a knee injury that required surgery, and Fitzgerald is expected to sit out the opener because of an ankle injury.

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Week 1 Kickoff

THURSDAY

* 6 p.m. -- Indianapolis at New England.

SUNDAY

* 10 a.m. -- Jacksonville at Buffalo; Detroit at Chicago; Baltimore at Cleveland; San Diego at Houston; Tennessee at Miami; Seattle at New Orleans; Cincinnati at N.Y. Jets; Oakland at Pittsburgh; Arizona at St. Louis; Tampa Bay at Washington.

* 1:15 p.m. -- Dallas at Minnesota; N.Y. Giants at Philadelphia; Atlanta at San Francisco.

* 5:30 p.m. -- Kansas City at Denver.

MONDAY

* 6 p.m. -- Green Bay at Carolina.